1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to portable electronic devices having calendaring and address book applications, and more particularly to methods and systems for integrating private network information into these applications when the portable electronic devices are in temporary use with private networks, such as cruise ships, airplanes, hotels, convention centers, resorts, and the like.
2. Background Art
The use of portable communication devices, such as mobile telephones, “smart” devices, and personal digital assistants, is becoming more prevalent. People today use these devices not only for communication, but also to maintain to-do lists, personal and business calendars, and contact lists of friends, family, and co-workers. It is not uncommon for a person to use a single device to make telephone calls, send SMS text messages, listen to music, take photographs, maintain a calendar, surf the Internet, and maintain an address book.
Not surprisingly, many people carry these communication devices when traveling. A person can store, for example, the name of a hotel, its telephone number, its address, map thereto, and even a reservation confirmation number in a single electronic device. The person can even use the device for telecommunication while staying in the hotel. Both the storage and usage processes can sometimes be less than efficient, however. For instance, a person must generally manually input information such as the name of the hotel, its telephone number, its address, and the reservation information. Regarding communication, if a person desires to call the front desk of the hotel from their room, such as to check out using their mobile telephone, the person will use the mobile telephone to first connect with a cellular service provider's tower, then to another service provider's land based communication network, then to a private exchange of the hotel, finally to the telephone of the clerk at the front desk.
There is thus a need for a communication device having more efficient communication features or scheduling features configured for use with private networks.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.